1. I was told by my father, born in 1872 on a farm in Wiltshire, that it was safe to eat all cruciferous plants – they have the sign of the Cross and so would bring you no harm [Oxshott, Surrey, January 1997].

2. I knew a lady who would never have any ‘cross’ flowers (Cruciferae, lilac [Syringa vulgaris], etc.) in her house because they were associated with the Crucifixion [Minehead, Somerset, November 1993].

Images:  main, aubretia, Aubretia deltoidea, cultivated, Tintagel, Cornwall, March 2014; inset, charlock, Sinapis arvensis, Bosham, West Sussex, April 2015.